Do velvet beans need support for growth?
A. Velvet bean are a vine and the stems can grow as much as 30 feet in a season. Providing support for velvet beans is not necessary, however velvet beans will produce higher yields if they have some support to climb. Inter-planting velvet beans with a companion crop such as corn or tall sweet sorghum provides a good support platform for velvet beans as well as an additional food for deer. For an added bonus, velvet beans (a legume) will fixate atmospheric nitrogen in their root nodules in support of the corn/sorghum.
